Althos and Sombra spent the next week living in the forest near where the god himself had first gone from the land of mortals to the dimension inhabited by demons. During this time Althos unlocked the second tiers of influence over light, darkness, and gender and sexuality. He acquired the quest to earn the second tier over that last subdomain during his second day in the forest and completed it minutes later.

  He and his pet demoness played in the woods like they were nothing more than a rebellious couple living out some fantasy of running away from the modern world and becoming hermits. Physically the god did little more than hunt, cook the spoils of his hunts, give the food away to spirits he created deep in the forest, and then spend nights with Sombra in his arms. The two made love for hours, thanks to their existences as tireless, sleepless beings. When the sun arose Althos would again set off and hunt some more.

  Mentally the god did a number of things. His mind was perpetually at work, constantly reaching out and manipulating global events as well as focused on the target of his scheme to acquire more power: the nation of Silverok.

  The world of Htrae was a large place. And in that large place there were many different nations with many different goals. A number of nations were fairly technologically advanced with the most advanced typically being the most democratic, though a number of dictatorships invested heavily in technology allowing them to have the resources needed to compete with the democracies that feared and sought to undermine them.

  That being said, having such an emphasis on technology was a brilliant opening for me. Technology was easy for me to exploit thanks to the powers I possessed over even the most advanced tech someone could find throughout this world. One of the things I set my mind too while I was killing time and beginning the first stages of my infiltration of Silverok was to enter and corrupt all manner of Htraean technology.

  This proved an easy enough task for me to do as I had a manner of means of entering technology and manipulating it, especially since the most important bits of technology on Htrae invariably involved computers. I sneakily entered computers and began to mess with them.

  Computers on Htrae proved to be fascinating bits of technology that humans throughout the planet used regularly. This made them invaluable to my efforts to begin to mess with the world I found myself in. While I was out and about exploring the forest near the town I had first stumbled upon in the rural New Sol wilderness my mind was exploring technology that Htraeans used to feel safe.

  This fun exercise had the unexpected end result of allowing me to begin to learn how it was that the planet might respond to an alien invasion. They wouldn't have the organizational structure in place to defend themselves from a fully armed and organized alien invasion, partially because it's not commonly agreed upon that aliens probably exist somewhere in the depths of space. Htrae is the only planet in its solar system with any sort of life and they've only just recently become a space-faring civilization so their skepticism doesn't come out of left-field.

  I allowed my mind to bond with computers all over the world, some in homes but many in places like banks and government buildings. I wanted to begin to build my own network of information that I could use to readily acquire even more knowledge and also to subtly begin to influence the world. This planet was destined to join my empire, and I wanted to begin to point it in that direction. Slowly.

  The nation of Silverok began to feel my influence in subtle ways. On each of the seven days that passed between the time Sombra and I started living in the forest and the present I did something new to begin to exert my influence.

  On the first day that passed, I didn't do anything that would be immediately noticed by the people of Silverok. Instead I did something I hadn't done in a while: I selected members of an animal species and elevated them out of their current existence by transforming them into something new. I selected snakes living in a forest near the middle of the nation and I forcibly evolved them into humanoid forms, giving them new bodies and a new purpose.

  I also gave my new serpentine servants a new home: a temple I built instantly in the forest they were born and had lived in. I spoke to them mentally and informed them that they were now naga, a mythical evolution of serpents that took serpentine features and humanoid features and fused the best of them together. My new servants profusely thanked the voice that they were heard in their heads and swore to serve me faithfully for the rest of their lives.

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  While this was happening I began to fill the deeper parts of the temple with the resurrected bodies of Silverokians who had once died and were the family members of prominent members of society. Those people were promptly put to sleep and given temporary immortality so I didn't need to worry about them for the time being. Each day I would fill the lower reaches of the temple with more and more people.

  On the second day, I sent angels of chaos to infiltrate various cities and towns throughout Silverok. Some of these angels had humanoid forms, while others did not, but regardless they obeyed me and effortlessly traveled to where they'd be able to inflict the most chaos in the days to come. I also continued to resurrect people.

  On the third day I officially began my infiltration of Silverokian society. What I did was quite simple: I invaded the dreams of countless people throughout Silverok and began to make my presence known. In some cases, I was a rampaging monster who stole sanity and began to forcibly drag people towards chaos, and in other cases, I was a gentle, unseen voice that was heard throughout the dreams of those whose minds I had invaded.

  It was on this day that I fully indoctrinated my serpentine servants, fully immersing them into a sinister, anarchistic cult that sought to liberate Silverok from its dictatorial government. I transformed select naga into priests, priestesses, and witches and warlocks. I also named one of them a high priest and elevated him to level 20 using my weekly level-modification ability.

  On the fourth day I began to awaken those I had resurrected, slowly waking them up and having them begin to become indoctrinated into a new cult of mine in the eerie temple they had been resurrected within. My naga servants began to immerse the Silverokians in anti-government propaganda that I had made up and thanks to the state of confusion that the humans were in this proved to be an effective tactic, especially when combined with a new darkness-based power I possessed that weakened the ability of creatures to combat the influence of my words when immersed in darkness.

  The temple was a dark place. It was perfect for my serpentine servants as I gifted them flawless vision while in the dark and it weakened the abilities of humans to perceive their surroundings.

  On the fifth day I began to lay the groundwork for the chaos that was to come; I infected a handful of government officials in one of the smaller cities with a relatively harmless plague that would do little more than leave than bedridden for a week or two. Long enough for my forces to do what they needed to do. And for me to acquire the power I wanted: the second tier of influence over the domain of chaos.

  On the sixth day I was much more aggressive within the dreams of those I had targeted. If they had nightmares their nightmares were far more primal and terrifying, featuring massive serpents taller than buildings and eldritch terrors that loomed in the distance. Those who had pleasant dreams had dreams of passions fulfilled and of a world free from the tyrannical edicts of the government. They had dreams of a courageous new world and of fulfilling lives where they pursued their own goals, not ones assigned to them by bureaucrats and a terrifying big-brother-like government.

  On the seventh day the people I had resurrected were freed from the temple. They were told to go back to their old homes and to reunite with their families. They were told that their families would be confused, but to tell them that the dreamer sent them, the same one they had heard in their dreams. Their families would accept them back with open, eager arms.

  I protected those I had resurrected while they left the forest the temple was in. None of them were hurt nor did they experience any pain, thanks to my power to suppress it. When they left the forest I began to use my newer powers over illusions to cover up portals that led them from the areas outside of the forest to wherever in the country their homes happened to be. They weren't all from the same town or city, but within an hour of leaving the forest they were all back in their homes, safe and sound.

  On the seventh day my angels also began to move. The times were about to be a-changing in Silverok. It was going to be very interesting to be sure.